


The dance

by Servena



Category: Charlie Bone Series | Children of the Red King - Jenny Nimmo
Genre: Awkwardness, Dancing, F/M, Romance, School Dances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-28 21:51:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8464363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Servena/pseuds/Servena
Summary: “There’s supposed to be a dance later”, Charlie Bone announced gloomily. “All endowed children have to participate.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Sommerchallenge 2016.

Just as Emma was about to introduce her aunt Julia to her arts teacher, Charlie Bone appeared behind her. “There’s supposed to be a dance later”, he announced gloomily.

“I don’t want to dance”, Emma said.

“No choice. All endowed children have to.”

They shared a look of horror.

The news spread fast among their friends. While the food was served, everyone was either busy trying to find a dancing partner, or sinking into despair.

“I’ll dance with you”, said Olivia to Charlie. “My mum made me take dance classes when I was 8. Trust me, we’re gonna look awesome.”

At that, Charlie looked relieved, but Emma whined, “What about me? You don’t even have to dance!”

“I like to dance”, Olivia said. “Besides, I bet Alastair Dwight wants to dance with you. I can see him looking over to you every few minutes.”

Emma only groaned at that.

Some had no trouble finding a partner. Tancred had a girlfriend at Bloor’s, Lysander was handsome and managed to find a girl in the 10 minutes it took him to fill his plate at the buffet table, and even Gabriel had gathered his courage and asked a girl from his English course.

“Looks like even Manfred has a dancing partner”, Charlie whispered.

“She doesn’t look too happy though”, Olivia observed.

Charlie grinned. “Who would?”

The Branko twins were pretty, if scary, and had no shortage of boys trying to woe them. They faced the whole matter with cool indifference. Joshua Tilpin was sitting next to a giggling girl that looked at him like he was the best thing since sliced bread. “Magnetism”, said Tancred grimly as she passed him at the buffet table.

As the food and dinnerware was cleared away, even Dorcas Loom had found a partner and Emma had made up her mind.

“There’s always Alastair”, said Olivia, now a bit more serious. “He doesn’t look bad, actually.”

“He’s an arrogant arsehole”, Emma said.

Oliva shrugged. “There’s always that.”

When the tables were moved to the sides to make space in the middle of the hall, Emma rose from the bench. “Where are you going?” Olivia asked.

“I’m going to ask someone.”

Olivia grinned. “Good luck!”

She made her way across the hall. Asa Pike was standing aside a bit, looking lost. During dinner she had noticed that no girl approached him and he hadn’t made any efforts himself. They’re afraid of him, she realised. And he doesn’t even try.

“Asa”, she said, and when he didn’t react: “Hey! Asa!”

He turned to face her. “What do you want?” There was always something distrustful in the way he reacted, like a dog baring its teeth in expectation of a hit.

She took a deep breath. “Do you want to dance with me?” she asked, trying hard to pretend like this was a completely normal thing to ask.

He was visibly thrown. “What?”

“Do you want to dance with me?” she repeated.

His yellow eyes narrowed. “Don’t you have someone else to dance with?” he snapped.

“No”, she said earnestly.

That seemed to confuse him even more. There was a moment of silence between them. Then he shrugged. “Whatever. Fine.”

She smiled.

It was still the longest and most awkward dance of her life. Everyone was looking at them as they were turning in slow circles in the middle of the hall. She had the feeling that a disproportionate amount of eyes were on Asa and herself. She tried not to notice.

Neither Asa nor Emma herself were good dancers, but there wasn’t much to do besides moving in circles around other couples. They still managed to step on each other’s feet a few times. The height difference made things even more awkward.

When they passed Charlie and Olivia, Olivia shot her a quizzical look and a raised eyebrow. Emma could do not much more than smile until they had moved on.

The dance was accompanied by the school orchestra. When Emma looked closely, she could make out Fidelio with his violin among the musicians. What would she have given to sit at the side instead of being watched by everyone!

Yet she found that as time went by, her nervousness lessened somewhat. She even dared to take a glance at Asa’s face instead of looking straight ahead over his shoulder.

She had never been so close to him before. Strands of his shaggy red hair were falling in his face and he didn’t have a free hand to brush them back. His eyes are really yellow, Emma thought. Wolf eyes.

When he met her gaze, she hastily looked away.

She wondered what he might be thinking about her.

When the music finally stopped, she was so surprised that it took an awkward moment until they let go of each other. She turned so he couldn’t see her red face, and hurriedly returned to her seat.

“Soo…about that”, Olivia said as she let herself fall next to her on the bench.

“Both of us didn’t have a partner, it was a natural choice”, Emma said, stabbing at a lettuce leaf she had left over.

“Uh-hu”, made Olivia.

“And don’t give me that look!”

“What look?” she asked and fluttered her fake eyelashes innocently. They glittered in the light of the candles.

“You know what look”, Emma grumbled. “It was nothing.”

“Sure.”

“I mean it.”

“Uh- _hu_.”

“LIV!”

Only much later, when she lay in her own bed in her room above the bookstore, did she admit to herself that the dance had been kind of nice.


End file.
